Thanks to substitute Marek Janssen, Rot-Weiss Essen managed to salvage a point at home against VfB Stuttgart II.

Rot-Weiss Essen salvaged a point against VfB Stuttgart II in a wild closing phase to kick off Matchday 17 of the 3. Liga. Despite a lackluster performance, it was Marek Janssen who scored the late 1-1 (0-0) equalizer for RWE. Shortly before that, Ahmet Arslan had missed a penalty after the visitors capitalized on a slip by José-Enrique Ríos Alonso.

The Essen side, with Felix Wienand in goal for the ailing Jakob Golz, could only watch as the dominant visitors controlled both the ball and their opponents in the opening stages.

In the sixth minute, the first truly dangerous moment occurred: After Christopher Olivier beat Tobias Kraulich, he crossed into the middle, where Lauri Penna tried to push the ball over the line from close range—Wienand made a brilliant save to prevent his team from falling behind. Ten minutes later, he was there again: Mansour Ouro-Tagba had left Kraulich in his wake after a pass from Noah Darvich and fired from a tight angle.

And the Essen team? They didn’t get into the game until just past the 20-minute mark—coincidentally, right when Stuttgart midfielder Darvich had to leave the field due to injury (23rd minute). The home team’s first scoring chances followed promptly: Kaito Mizuta’s header was blocked by a VfB defender, and Tim Moustier’s follow-up shot was deflected decisively out of bounds (28th minute). It was a rare foray forward.

Stuttgart continued to dominate the game and controlled the midfield. However, that was as far as it went; the RWE defense held firm. The offense, on the other hand, was virtually nonexistent. A telling example: Torben Müsel shot from a good position, but the ball hit Jannik Mause’s arm.

Essen started the second half more aggressively and pressed higher up the field earlier. But VfB soon took control again: the nearly unstoppable Ouro-Tagba hit the post after a cross from Penna (50′).

RWE posed a threat only on counterattacks: Müsel’s shot, set up by Safi, was too weak, however (59′). It wasn’t until just past the hour mark that coach Uwe Koschinat’s team managed to establish some presence in the opponent’s half. They nearly succeeded: Müsel missed at the near post after a cross from Jannik Hofmann, and Kraulich’s spinning shot was stopped by Florian Hellstern.

The closing stages, however, belonged to the visitors once again: Efe Korkut suddenly appeared in front of Wienand, but the Golz-backed goalkeeper made a strong save. A minute later, he had no chance: Rios Alonso, the last man, slipped after being pressured by Mohamed Sankoh. Stuttgart’s substitute capitalized and nutmegged Wienand for a well-deserved 1-0 lead from VfB’s perspective (80.).

RWE threw everything forward, and Stuttgart gave in! Sankoh tried to block a cross but handled the ball—penalty! Substitute Ahmet Arslan stepped up to take it but was denied by Hellstern, who had guessed the right corner (89′). The ensuing corner, however, was capitalized on: Mizuta crossed the second ball into the box, where substitute Janssen headed it in to make it 1–1 (90′). A fortunate final touch for Essen in a wild closing phase.